The Southern Co-operative has implemented a cloud-based IT service and help desk system from Sunrise Software to support the organisation's point of sale system (POS).
Sunrise Software's Sostenuto has been used to complement the new POS linked to head office and 180 food stores across southern England. The IT service desk is hosted by Sunrise's datacentre partner Navisite, and is scheduled to go live in September 2012.
Initially, the cloud-based IT service desk will support the Southern Co-operative's POS system, to capture all store-related IT incidents including back office PCs and printers as well as new Retalix POS terminals. Incidents will then be routed automatically and intelligently to designated colleagues or groups for resolution within pre-defined timescales.
Sunrise Software expects to expand the capabilities of the IT service desk to manage all aspects of The Southern Co-operative's contact management activities and support the company's overall retail operations.
The software company said that employees of the co-op will benefit from "fast and easy access" to the IT service desk through a single contact point to communicate their IT problems and keep updated with their progress either by telephone or email.
Based on version three of the ITIL best practice framework, the software will track the performance of the IT service desk against specific SLAs and Operational Level Agreements (OLAs) agreed with The Southern Co-operative. The real-time availability of meaningful management information will facilitate "faster, more accurate decision-making that tangibly improves the usage of IT support resources and increases the productivity of business personnel", according to the company.
"Our priority is ensuring our customers receive the same high level of service they have come to expect as we transition to a new POS platform," said Peter Lucas, service desk manager at The Southern Co-operative."
He added that the co-op was confident Sunrise would offer a smooth and seamless service to the organisation's IT users without adversely affecting performance or the customer experience.
"[It]guarantees the sophisticated functionality we need to grow with the changing demands of our business in the future," Lucas said.
